Kremlin warns of mutual damage if Ukraine cuts diplomatic ties

Reuters Staff

1 Min Read

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a reported plan by Ukraine to cut all diplomatic ties with Russia would further deepen a crisis between the two countries and end up hurting the interests of both Ukrainians and Russians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks on the phone before a session of the Council of Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Sochi, Russia October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a report in Russia’s Kommersant newspaper which said that the Ukrainian parliament was expected to vote to cut all diplomatic ties on Nov. 16.

Ties between Moscow and Kiev have been in crisis since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and a pro-Russian separatist uprising broke out in eastern Ukraine that same year.